This restaurant fashion Paneer Tikka Masala recipe is brimming with vivid flavors from the spiced and creamy tomato onion curry gravy/sauce and delightfully marinated grilled cottage cheese. Whereas this dish could also be thought of a labor of affection, the effort and time are nicely price it!
This scrumptious conventional Punjabi dish is one thing the entire household will love. Make it for dinner tonight and serve with a pile of naan, roti, or paratha. I can nearly assure the entire household will clear their plates!
What’s Paneer Tikka Masala
For any non-native Indians, I consider it’s best to clarify if we break it down into its part components.
First, we’ve got paneer. Paneer is ubiquitous in Indian cooking and is a good vegetarian different to rooster, lamb and different meats. It’s a agency, non-melting cheese that’s comparable in consistency to tofu.
Tikka refers to a bit of meals that has been marinated and grilled. On this case, the paneer cubes are first marinated and later grilled earlier than including to the gravy.
Lastly, we’ve got masala. Whereas masala means any variety of spices which are blended, on this case the masala is referring to the spice laden gravy.
There you’ve got it! Paneer Tikka Masala can actually be translated to a marinated grilled paneer in a creamy, spiced gravy!
Step-by-Step Information
The way to make Paneer Tikka Masala
Whereas Paneer Tikka Masala recipe has many steps, don’t be discouraged! Nothing is especially technical or troublesome, and I’ll stroll you thru every step with detailed notes and footage.
Marinate Paneer
1. In a big bowl, whisk 6 tablespoons hung curd till clean.
Tip: Hung curd is made by bundling curd (yogurt) in cheesecloth and permitting the whey to drip away. This may lead to a thicker yogurt. To omit this step, you can too use Greek yogurt, Icelandic Skyr or Center Japanese Labneh.
2. One after the other, add the spices, herbs and seasonings listed beneath:
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri pink chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder (elective)
- 2 to three pinches of grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder
- 1 beneficiant pinch of crushed saffron or saffron powder
- 1 tablespoon of cornstarch or gram flour
- ½ teaspoon salt or as required
3. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice
4. Combine every little thing very nicely.
5. Add the paneer cubes (250 to 300 grams), 1 medium-sized onion (layers separated and minimize in squares), 1 medium bell pepper (minimize in squares or cubes).
6. Gently combine once more in order that the marination coats the paneer, onions and bell peppers evenly. Cowl the bowl and marinate within the fridge for no less than one hour and as much as in a single day.
Tip: Don’t skimp on marinating time! This marinating course of imparts a whole lot of taste and is a vital a part of making this genuine Paneer Tikka Masala recipe.
Grilling Paneer in Oven
7. Line a baking tray or pan with aluminum foil or parchment. Whereas this step is technically elective, this methodology makes it a lot simpler to wash the pan later.
Subsequent, thread the paneer cubes and greens on bamboo or metallic skewers and place them on the ready pan. When you don’t have to skewer the paneer, I discover that it makes for much less work turning the cubes in all preparations.
Tip: If utilizing bamboo skewers, you need to soak them in water for no less than 10 minutes earlier than skewering the paneer. This may be sure that they don’t catch fireplace whereas cooking.
Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F) for no less than 10 minutes earlier than you grill the paneer cubes.
For a daily oven, preserve the highest heating aspect on and preserve the pan on the highest rack. For a microwave oven use the convection mode and preheat at 180° C (350° F).
8. Brush about 1 to 2 teaspoons oil evenly on the paneer, onion and bell pepper cubes.
9. Grill the skewered paneer cubes and veggies in a preheated oven at 200° C (390° F) for a complete of 15 to twenty minutes (relying on the oven temperatures). Midway by way of take away the skewers and switch over for even grilling.
Simply preserve an eye fixed when the paneer is baking within the oven. You need the cubes to start to brown on the edges, however you don’t need it to burn.
10. Beneath is the oven grilled tikka cubes. You possibly can brown the perimeters a bit extra if you need however don’t overcook the paneer cubes.
Pan Frying Marinated Paneer
11. Warmth about 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in a flat pan or frying pan or a skillet till shimmering. Place the skewers on the pan and start to pan fry them on medium warmth.
12. When one aspect is crisp and browned, gently rotate the skewers. Carry on rotating till all sides are browned. If obligatory, add extra oil to the pan whereas frying.
Nonetheless you prepare dinner your paneer, you’ll wish to take away the skewers and set the grilled paneer and greens to the aspect whilst you make your gravy.
Make Tikka Masala Gravy
13. Convey a pot of salted water to a boil. Add halved onions (2 medium sized) and three medium-sized tomatoes to the boiling water.
Cook dinner for one or two minutes. Flip off warmth. Cowl and preserve apart for 15 to twenty minutes.
Tip 1: For a barely sweeter gravy, you may add 10 to 12 cashews to the recent water with the onion and tomato. Including cashews offers a creamier consistency with a pleasant sweetness. You possibly can add them to the onion paste within the subsequent step.
Tip 2: To make the tomatoes simpler to peel, make a small “x” within the pores and skin with a paring knife or a small knife earlier than including to the boiling water. The pores and skin will slide proper off!
14. Later chop the onions roughly and make a clean paste in a grinder, blender or with a mortar and pestle. Don’t add any water whereas mixing the onions.
15. Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes. Make a clean puree of the tomatoes within the grinder or blender. Hold each the onion paste and tomato puree apart.
16. Whisk or beat 2 to 2.5 tablespoons recent curd (yogurt) until clean and preserve apart. There must be no lumps within the yogurt and it must be overwhelmed nicely.
Make Paneer Tikka Masala
17. In a sauté pan, warmth 2 tablespoons oil over medium warmth till shimmering and add the onion paste.
Tip: When you pan fried the paneer, use the identical pan for simpler clear up!
18. Stir typically and sauté till the onion paste turns golden. This takes time so don’t be in a rush.
19. Add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the scent of uncooked ginger and garlic goes away. This could take roughly some 5 to 10 seconds.
Tip: Burnt garlic has a really bitter, acrid style. You should definitely stir the ginger-garlic paste repeatedly and add the tomato purée as quickly because the garlic is cooked by way of.
20. Add the ready tomato purée. Stir nicely and sauté till you see fats leaving sides of the masala. Don’t rush this course of.
21. Now add all of the dry spice powders listed beneath:
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon pink chili powder or kashmiri pink chili powder or candy paprika
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (floor coriander)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder – elective
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder or tandoori masala
22. Stir and mix nicely in order that the spices are included within the masala paste evenly. Now take away the pan from warmth and place it on the kitchen countertop.
23. Add the two to 2.5 tablespoons of overwhelmed recent curd (yogurt). You should definitely use full fats recent curd.
Tip: When including cultured dairy to a dish, you need to at all times take away the pan from warmth earlier than stirring it in. This may preserve the dairy from breaking or separating in your sauce.
24. Combine very nicely.
25. Add water and salt. Combine and stir once more. Place the pan once more on the stovetop on low to medium-low warmth.
26. Simmer for five to six minutes or until the gravy thickens and also you see fats floating on the highest. The consistency ranges from medium to barely thick.
You possibly can alter the consistency to your liking by including kind of water.
27. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons gentle cream (or low-fat cream) or 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream and ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves).
Stir to combine nicely and simmer on a low warmth for a minute. Examine the style and add extra salt or cream in the event you desire.
Tip: You too can about ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar for a bit of additional sweetness.
28. Lastly, add the grilled or pan-fried paneer and veggies cubes.
29. Flip off the warmth and blend nicely.
30: Garnish with 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves and serve your home made Paneer Tikka Masala with some naan, roti or jeera rice.
Tuck in with a spoon and watch your loved ones’s faces dissolve into ecstasy! This dish is at all times a success, even with folks new to Indian delicacies.
Professional Ideas
- Gravy or sauce: For the gravy or curry, use ripe, pink and barely candy tomatoes. Keep away from utilizing tomatoes that are too tangy or bitter or unripe.
- Curd (Yogurt): For marinating the paneer cubes, use recent hung curd or use recent full fats thick yogurt (thick curd). Don’t use curd which has turn out to be bitter.
- How is hung curd made? Hung curd is made by permitting all of the whey (water) to empty from recent curd or yogurt. The curd is bundled in a muslin or cheese fabric, positioned on a sieve having a bowl beneath (to gather the whey) in a single day or for 4 to five hours within the fridge. A heavy object like a small pan or pestle is saved on prime of the bundle. Use 1 cup of recent curd (yogurt) to make hung curd for this recipe.
- Paneer: Paneer is agency cottage cheese made by curdling milk with lemon juice or vinegar. It is rather straightforward to make paneer. For making any paneer primarily based curry dish, it’s at all times finest to make the paneer at house. If utilizing packaged paneer, then observe the directions talked about on the pack earlier than marinating them. Examine my Homemade Paneer recipe.
- Grilling or pan-frying: Don’t grill or pan-fry the paneer cubes for a very long time as this may end result within the cubes getting dense and rubbery.
- Consistency: The consistency of the gravy is medium to medium-thick. So add water accordingly to get the consistency you like.
- Paneer Swap: Merely substitute further agency tofu or seitan for any recipe that requires paneer. You possibly can additionally decide to make use of soya chaap (or soy curls) as a substitute.
FAQs
Sure! You possibly can simply sub a number of pinches of hing (also called asafoetida) for the alliums. For the marinade, add a pinch of hing as a substitute of garlic paste.
For the gravy, add one to 2 pinches of hing once you add the ginger paste. You too can add the paneer tikka items in a makhani or makhanwala gravy which doesn’t use yogurt or onions.
Kasuri Methi are fenugreek leaves which have been sun-dried. It tastes like a mixture of fennel and celery with a little bit of a bitter chew. When you don’t have entry to kasuri methi, simply omit it from the sauce fully.
Completely! Merely swap out further agency tofu for the paneer. Use a coconut or cashew yogurt that you’ve strained rather than the hung curd. Swap coconut cream for the heavy cream.
Actually! When you’re fortunate sufficient to have one, this recipe can be much more genuine in a tandoor oven.
Sure! You’ll positively wish to skewer the paneer and greens on metallic skewers.
Hung curd is common yogurt that’s then strained with cheesecloth to take away all of the whey. For this recipe you need to use 1 cup of recent curd (yogurt) to make hung curd.
When you desire to omit this step, Greek yogurt, skyr and labneh are all completely acceptable substitutes.
Whereas I extremely advocate making your personal paneer at house (it simply tastes so a lot better!), you may actually use retailer purchased in a pinch. You should definitely observe any package deal directions earlier than marinating.
Punjab is a area in Northern India, and Punjabi delicacies is the meals that originates from there. Punjab is a extremely agricultural area, and their delicacies is made up of regionally grown staples.
Dairy is kind of prevalent within the area, which means many well-known Punjabi dishes are made with milk or cream. Different Punjabi dishes you is likely to be accustomed to are Chana Masala, Rajma Masala, Kadhi Pakora and Lassi.
Rubbery paneer is usually a results of overcooking. First, ensure that you aren’t overcooking it within the “grilling” step. Second, you need to add the paneer to the sauce after it has been faraway from the warmth. You wish to enable it to heat within the sauce, however not proceed cooking.
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Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe (Restaurant Model)
This Paneer Tikka Masala is a restaurant fashion recipe with vivid flavors from the creamy and spiced tomato onion curry gravy or sauce and delightfully marinated grilled cottage cheese. Finest served with a aspect of naan, chapati, roti or paratha.
Prep Time 1 hr 30 minutes
Cook dinner Time 30 minutes
Whole Time 2 hrs
Forestall your display screen from going darkish whereas making the recipe
Marinating paneer
Whisk the hung curd or greek yogurt until clean in a big bowl. You too can use a extremely thick curd as a substitute of hung curd.
Add all of the ginger-garlic paste, spice powders, lemon juice, corn starch or gram flour and salt. Combine nicely.
Add the paneer cubes, onions, bell pepper.
Gently combine once more in order that the marination coats the paneer, onions and bell peppers evenly. Cowl the bowl and marinate for at least 1 hour or in a single day within the fridge.
Grilling paneer in oven
Line a baking tray or pan with aluminum foil. This methodology makes its simpler to wash the pan later.
- Thread the paneer cubes on a bamboo or metallic skewers and place them on the ready pan. Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F) for no less than 10 minutes earlier than you grill the paneer cubes.
For a daily oven, preserve solely the highest heating aspect on and preserve the pan within the prime rack. For a microwave oven use the convection mode and preheat at 180° C (350° F).
Brush about 1 to 2 teaspoons oil evenly on the paneer and bell pepper cubes.
- Grill the skewered paneer cubes and veggies in a preheated oven at 200° C (390° F) for a complete of 15 to twenty minutes (relying on the oven temperatures). Whereas grilling take away the tikka midway, flip over every paneer cubes & greens after which proceed to grill.
Simply preserve an eye fixed when the paneer is getting grilled within the oven.
Pan frying tikka cubes
Warmth about 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in a pan. Place the threaded paneer cubes and veggies with the skewers on the pan.
Fry the paneer cubes on medium warmth. Alter the warmth as wanted.
Gently rotate the skewers, when one aspect is crisp and browned. Carry on rotating until all the perimeters are browned.
Add extra oil if required, whereas frying. Hold the fried paneer cubes and veggies apart.
Making onion and tomato puree
Boil water with a pinch of salt. Add halved onions and tomatoes to the boiling water.
Cook dinner for one or two minutes. Flip off the warmth. Cowl and preserve apart for 15 to twenty minutes.
You too can add cashews to the recent water. Including cashews offers a creamier consistency with a pleasant sweetness.
Later drain and chop the onions and tomatoes roughly. It’s not essential to blanch, however blanching reduces the cooking time later.
Subsequent chop the onions roughly and make a clean effective paste in a grinder or blender.
Peel and roughly chop the tomatoes. Make a clean and effective puree of the tomatoes within the grinder or blender. Hold each the onion and tomato puree apart.
Whisk or beat the yogurt until clean and preserve apart. There must be no lumps within the yogurt and it must be overwhelmed nicely.
Making paneer tikka masala
In the identical pan, warmth 2 tablespoons oil after which add the onion paste.
Stir typically and saute until the onions paste turns golden.
Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for some seconds until the uncooked aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
Add the tomato puree. Stir nicely and saute until you see fats leaving sides of the masala.
Now add all of the dry spice powders – turmeric, pink chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala or tandoori masala.
Stir nicely in order that the spices are included within the masala paste evenly.
Flip off warmth and take away the pan from the stovetop and place on the kitchen countertop.
Add overwhelmed recent curd (yogurt). Eradicating the pan from stovetop, will not enable the yogurt to curdle. Use full fats and recent curd.
Stir to combine nicely. Add water and salt. Hold pan again on the stovetop on low to medium-low warmth. Stir once more.
- Simmer for five to six minutes or until the gravy thickens and also you see fats floating on the highest. You possibly can preserve the consistency from medium to barely thick. The consistency may be altered by including kind of water.
- Add cream and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). Stir nicely and simmer on a low warmth for a minute. Examine the style and add extra salt or cream in the event you desire. You too can about ½ to 1 teaspoon of sugar for a lightweight candy style.
Then add the grilled or pan-fried paneer and veggies cubes. Flip off the warmth and blend nicely.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve Paneer Tikka Masala with some naan, roti or jeera rice.
- Tomatoes: For the gravy or curry, use ripe, pink and barely candy tomatoes. Keep away from utilizing tomatoes that are too tangy or bitter or unripe.
- Curd (Yogurt): For marinating the paneer cubes, use recent hung curd or use a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt. Don’t use hung curd which has turn out to be bitter. For the gravy too, use recent curd or yogurt.
- You possibly can simply make hung curd:
- Line a clear muslin or cheesecloth on a strainer on prime of the bowl.
- Place the recent curd or yogurt on the muslin or cheesecloth.
- Convey collectively all edges of the muslin and make a knot.
- Gently press and preserve the muslin on the strainer.
- Press a heavy weight object like a lid or bowl or tray on prime of the muslin.
- Place the bowl, strainer, muslin with the curd, weight et all within the fridge for 4 to five hours or in a single day. The whey will gather within the bowl and creamy clean hung curd will probably be left within the muslin.
- For this recipe you need to use 1 cup of recent curd to make hung curd.
- Paneer: For making any paneer primarily based curry dish, it’s at all times finest to make the paneer at house. If utilizing packaged paneer, then observe the directions talked about on the pack earlier than marinating them.
- Grilling or pan-frying: Don’t grill or pan-fry the paneer cubes for a very long time as this may end result within the cubes getting dense and rubbery.
- Curd: You should definitely use curd or yogurt made out of complete milk or full-fat curd for the tikka gravy or sauce.
- Consistency: The consistency of the gravy is medium to medium-thick. So add water accordingly to get the consistency you like.
Vitamin Information
Paneer Tikka Masala Recipe (Restaurant Model)
Quantity Per Serving
Energy 379 Energy from Fats 252
% Day by day Worth*
Fats 28g43%
Saturated Fats 13g81%
Ldl cholesterol 59mg20%
Sodium 634mg28%
Potassium 438mg13%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 14g28%
Vitamin A 1206IU24%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 1mg67%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 1mg59%
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 1mg5%
Vitamin B6 1mg50%
Vitamin B12 1µg17%
Vitamin C 43mg52%
Vitamin D 1µg7%
Vitamin E 4mg27%
Vitamin Ok 12µg11%
Calcium 375mg38%
Vitamin B9 (Folate) 34µg9%
Iron 1mg6%
Magnesium 25mg6%
Phosphorus 99mg10%
Zinc 1mg7%
* P.c Day by day Values are primarily based on a 2000 calorie eating regimen.
This Paneer Tikka Masala recipe publish from the archives first printed in October 2014 has been up to date and republished on February 2023.
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